Safety bathtub support for infants



April 1, '1941. c. H. FISCHER 2,237,177

SAFETY BATHTUB, SUPPORT FOR INFANTS Filed NOV. 17, 1938 INVENTOR.

' E. H. FISCHER BY 1 2 T E -T Patented Apr. 1, 1941 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE I azzm SAFETY BATHTUB SUPPORT FORINFANTS Carl H. Fischer, Council Bluffs, Iowa Application November 17, 1938, Serial No. 2 L0,975

Each rod element has its outer end slotted as 1 Claim.

The principal object of this invention is to provide a detachable support for bathtubs that successfully supports and holds infants during bathing.

A further object of this invention is to provide an infant support for bathtub-s that will successfully fit different styles, sizes and types of bathtubs.

A still further object of my invention is to provide a bathtub support for infants that may be easily and quickly attached to or detached from a bathtub.

A still further object of my invention is to provide an infant support for bathtubs that is economical in manufacture and durable in use.

These and other objects will be apparent to those skilled in the art.

My invention consists in the construction, arrangement and combination of the various parts of the device, whereby the objects contemplated are attained as hereinafter more fully set forth, pointed out in my claim and illustrated in the accompanying drawing, in which:

Fig. 1 is a back view of my device secured to a bathtub and ready for use.

Fig. 2 is, an enlarged plan view of one end portion of my device in section to more fully illustrate its construction.

Fig. 3 is an enlarged cross sectional view of the supporting rod taken on line 3-3 of Fig. 1.

One of the dangers of giving a bath to a baby in a bathtub or allowing the baby to play in the water in the bathtub is that the infant is liable to get his or her head under the water. Also in giving a bath to a baby, it is very difficult to hold the baby up and wash the baby at the same time. I have overcome such difficulties as will hereinafter be appreciated.

Referring to the drawing, I have used the numeral to designate an ordinary bathtub. It is to such a tub that I attach my device and which I will now describe in detail. The numeral ll designates an elongated tube having a length less than the width of the upper portion of the bathtub. The numerals l2 and i3 designate rod elements threaded into the two ends of the tube l l respectively. The threads on rod 12 are right hand threads and the threads on the rod l3 are left hand threads, so that when the rods l2 and I3 are held against rotation and the tube is manually rotated to the right, the rods 12 and It will be forced or protruded from the two ends of the tube and when the tube is manually rotated to the left, the rods I2 and I3 will move towards each other and further into the tube.

shown in the drawing. The numeral l4 designates a link element extending into the slotted end of each of the rod elements. i5 designates a rivet in each of the rod elements. These rivets extend through the slotted portion of the rods and those portions of the links that extend into the slotted portions of the rods as shown in Fig. 2, for pivotally connecting the links to the rods, respectively. The numeral I6 designates a plate element on the outer end of each of the link members. The numeral ll designates a resilient or flexible disc such as rubber or like on the outer face of each of the plate members. The numeral I8 designates a slot hole extending transversely through the center portion of the tube II. The numeral l9 designates a continuous band extending through the slot hole It as shown in Fig. 3. The numeral 20 designates a snap hook secured to the band l9. This snap hook is designed to detachably engage a harness. The numeral 2| designates the belt portion of the harness having the buckle 22. The numerals 23 and 24 designate the two shoulder straps of F the harness secured to the belt and having adjustable lightening members 25. The numeral 26 designates a ring embracing the two shoulder straps as shown in Fig. 1. It is this ring that engages the hook snap and supports the infant in an upright position in the tub. The harness buckle, ring 26 and like are at the back' of the infant so that the infant cannot detach itself from the harness. The tube bar is also. at the back of the baby leaving the area in front of the baby unobstructed. The straps should be so adjusted that the belt will be just below the arm pits of the infant and if possible, the adjusting elements above or to the back of the shoulders. To use the device, it is merely necessary to unsnap the harness and secure the same around the infant. The tube and its assembly is then placed in the bathtub, as shown in Fig. 1 and the tube rotated to the right. This spreads the rubber or like pad discs away from each other and into tight frictional engagement with the inside walls of the tub, thereby successfully and rigidly securing the tube H to and across the inside of the tub. The infant is then placed in the tub and the ring snapped in the snap hook thereby supporting the baby in a sitting position in the tub. Obviously, the head of the baby will be held at all times above the surface of the water in the tub. To remove the baby from. the tub it is merely necessary to detach the ring from the snap hook. To remove the tube and its as- The numeral sembly from the tub, it is merely necessary to rotate the tube to the left. By the link members being hinged to the rod elements, the rubber discs may move to such angles as to conform with the angularity of the tub walls.

Some changes may be made in the construction and arrangement of my improved safety bathtub support for infants without departing from the real spirit and purpose of my invention, and it is my intention to cover by my claim any modified forms of structure or use of mechanical equivalents which may be reasonably included within its scope.

I claim:

In a safety bathtub support for infants, an elongated member having a slot cut "adjacent'its central portion, a rod element havingwonerof its ends threaded into one of the ends of elongated member and having its other end slotted, a tub engaging member, a link formed on said tub engaging member capable of being pivotally supported and engaged within said slotted end on 5 said rod, a. second rod element having one of its ends threaded intothe other end of said elongated member and having its other end slotted, a second tub engaging member, a link formed on said tub engaging member capable of being piv- 10 otally supported and engaged witmn said slotted end on said second mentioned rod, and a harness member secured to said elongated member through said slots; said tub engaging members being capable of contacting and assuming the 15 angle of the walls of said bathtub when said elongated member is turned in one direction.

CARL H. FISCHER. 

